1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
As conventionally practiced, a printer driver installed in an external apparatus such as a personal computer connected to a printer converts image data into data (print data) printable by the printer based on print setting set by a user. The printer driver then realizes printing by transmitting the converted print data to the printer.
In another form, the printer driver receives a setting value such as “sheet type” or “sheet size” input by the user, and performs only image data transmission to the printer, and the printer side converts the image data into print data. The conversion of the image data into the print data includes processing dependent on the printer such as color conversion of red, green and blue (RGB) data processed by the computer into cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK) data to be processed by the printer or quantization processing for conversion into a gradation number reproducible by the printer. Thus, a printer driver not dependent on a printer model can support many printers by the same program. Hereinafter, the printer driver of this type is referred to as a model-nondependent printer driver.
In many cases, the model-nondependent printer driver is employed for a printer as a built-in device. It is because the built-in device is lower in storage capacity or performance of a central processing unit (CPU) compared with the personal computer, therefore fast conversion of the image data into the print data that requires many processes is difficult to be achieved. The model-nondependent printer driver manages a character string to be displayed on a print setting screen on a table (setting value information management table) in association with an ID. The model-nondependent printer driver acquires a usable setting item (such as a sheet size) from a printer scheduled to perform printing, as an ID, and displays a character string corresponding to the acquired ID on the print setting screen. Thus, when the character string is not stored corresponding to the ID acquired from the printer which is to perform printing, no setting item can be displayed on the print setting screen.
Updating the setting value information management table can solve the problem. However, in the case of the printer driver installed in the built-in device, different from the printer driver installed in the personal computer, updating via Internet is difficult. Thus, the printer driver communicates with a printer which can communicate with the driver, acquires capability information of the printer in a form where an ID and a character string correspond to each other, from the printer, and adds the acquired information when the acquired information has not been defined on the setting value information management table. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-213366 discusses a technology for updating such a setting value information management table.
However, in the conventional technology, even when updating is performed to add “character string” to the setting value information management table, the “character string” is just added, while the “character string” that has been stored is not changed. Consequently, the setting value information management table cannot be updated more appropriately. For example, when a name of a sheet type displayed on the print setting screen is changed, a name of a purchased sheet is different from the character string displayed on the print setting screen, and hence the user cannot determine which sheet to select.